In order to answer this question, we choose some important results of meta-analysis (meta-analysis refers to the process of collecting all the documents on a specific topic, and then reorganizing and interpreting the results according to a unified standard, so as to get a panoramic interpretation). It should be pointed out that in order to unify the research standards, articles related to the relationship between drinking and health will convert different kinds of wines into alcohol content for statistics. For example, drinking 2250-degree liquor is 50g/ day, and drinking 1 liter of 4-degree beer is 40g/ day. The following alcohol consumption is calculated according to this method.
First, a small amount of alcohol can indeed reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, heart failure and stroke, but no matter how much alcohol is consumed, it will increase the risk of atrial fibrillation.
An article published in the journal Nutrition in 20 16 summarized the results of 18 prospective studies, with 2 10000 subjects, including 7756 patients with coronary heart disease. The results showed that compared with non-drinkers, drinkers had a lower risk of coronary heart disease 17% ~ 307%. When drinking 12~ 135g alcohol every day, the most significant risk reduction is drinking 36g alcohol every day, and the smallest risk reduction is drinking 135g alcohol every day [1].
The relationship between alcohol consumption and the risk of heart failure showed a trend of first decreasing and then increasing. 20 15 A meta-analysis published in the European Journal of Heart Failure included 8 prospective studies (including 621kloc-0/200,000 heart failure patients). The results show that the risk of heart failure is 83%~90% of that of non-drinkers for those who drink alcohol equivalent to 36g~ 168g every day, and it is 1 07% of that of non-drinkers when the drinking amount increases to 252g/ day [2] (Figure1).
Figure 1. Relationship between weekly alcohol consumption and heart failure risk. The abscissa is the alcohol consumption calculated by beverage, 1 beverage = 12g alcohol.
Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia, which can cause serious consequences such as atrial thrombosis and cerebral infarction. In 20 14, a meta-analysis completed by Swedish scientists was published in the Journal of American College of Cardiology. Seven prospective studies including 120000 patients with atrial fibrillation were statistically analyzed. It was found that drinking a small amount of alcohol would increase the risk of atrial fibrillation. With the increase of alcohol consumption from 65438 02g/day to 60g/ day, the risk of atrial fibrillation of drinkers increased from 65438 0.08 times to 65438 0.47 times [3].
Stroke is another major cause of death besides heart disease. A meta-analysis published in the International Journal of Cardiology in 20 14 summarized the results of 27 prospective studies involving1420,000, and found that the relationship between alcohol consumption and stroke risk first decreased and then increased. When drinking less than 20g/ day, the risk of stroke and the risk of death due to stroke decrease, while when drinking more than 20g/ day, both risks increase rapidly [4] (Figure 2).
Figure 2. The relationship between stroke prevalence and alcohol consumption (left), stroke mortality and alcohol consumption (right), and the abscissa is daily alcohol consumption.
Second, how to understand the above results, should we drink regularly to prevent heart disease?
How should we understand the above results? Should people who don't drink alcohol have two cups a day to prevent heart disease? I think this behavior is not desirable, mainly for the following reasons:
1. It is not difficult to see from the literature listed above that although a small amount of drinking is beneficial to reducing the risk of coronary heart disease, heart failure and stroke, it will also increase the risk of atrial fibrillation, indicating that its protective effect on cardiovascular diseases is not "all-round coverage", and it is likely that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, or even the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.
2. More importantly, the beneficial effects of a small amount of drinking are only reflected in some cardiovascular diseases, but in the research of endocrine diseases, liver diseases and tumors, drinking is an out-and-out harmful factor no matter how much. Therefore, even if it has a certain protective effect on the cardiovascular system, drinking alcohol will also cause damage to other organs.
3.？ It is difficult to control the amount of drinking in the so-called "beneficial range", especially for China people who like to consume high-alcohol liquor. Basically, if they are happy, they will drink more than two cups. "Proper drinking can prevent cardiovascular disease" is mostly just an excuse to comfort themselves.
In short, although there is evidence that a small amount of drinking can reduce the risk of some cardiovascular diseases, from the perspective of overall health, on the one hand, drinkers should be advised to limit drinking, and on the other hand, people who have never drunk before should not be advised to start drinking in order to prevent diseases.
References:
1. Alcohol consumption and the risk of coronary artery disease: a dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. Nutrition, 20 16.32(6): 637-44.
2.Larsson, S.C., N. Orsini and A. Wolk, Drinking and the Risk of Heart Failure: A Dose-Response Meta-analysis of Prospective Studies. Heart failure, 20 15. 17(4): pp. 367-73.
3.Larsson, S.C., N. Drca and A. Wolk, Alcohol consumption and the risk of atrial fibrillation: a prospective study and dose-response meta-analysis. J Am Coll Cardiol，20 14.64(3): p. 28 1-9。
4. Alcohol consumption and stroke risk: a dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. Int J Cardiol, 20 14. 174(3): pp. 669-77.